1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an easy-to-assemble, framed security wall that can be built under field conditions and is used for protecting buildings and other objects from explosives, ramming vehicles and artillery, and a security wall kit for building the security wall.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Security walls protect buildings, equipment, jets, and the like, especially from explosives, ramming vehicles and artillery projectiles. In the case of explosions, such as car bombings or a jet, a well built security wall absorbs the brunt of the explosive force. Thus, a jet isolated within a security wall can explode without igniting nearby parked jets. Security walls should also be difficult to climb over, which would require a tall wall and one without hand and foot holds.
Current security walls have a number of problems. Current walls are cumbersome to build and require a building crew of at least four to six people to assemble. The current walls assemble from a number of shorter panels. Each panel is heavy and awkward, requiring two people to lift. The panels secure to each other using connecting rods that thread through holes in the panels to form a partial wall of about eight feet long. The partial walls then stack on top of each other to form taller walls.
Because the partial walls are even heavier than the panels, for safety purposes a crew of at least four people is used to lift the partial wall to place it on a base partial wall. Building higher walls requires equipment to lift the partial wall high enough to finish the tall security wall.
Currently used security walls also use a number of noninterchangeable parts, such as different sized end panels, side panels, brace panels and cross panels. Because of their different lengths, heights and functions, panels are not interchangeable with each other. The panels can also only be used in one particular orientation to assemble a wall in order for the connecting rods to fasten the panels together. Therefore, to build a wall, the assembly kits require a large number of different parts. Because the panels are limited by size and orientation, the panels are not easily assembled into a large number of different configurations-especially under field conditions.
The security walls are not quickly assembled because the holes in the segments often align poorly. This requires the use of a mallet or sledge hammer to ram the connecting rods down through the holes in the segments.
Therefore, there is a need for a security wall that one or two people can easily assemble. There is also a need for a security wall that can be assembled into a large number of different configurations under field condition. There is also a need for a security wall and its kit that uses a small number of interchangeable parts.